Africa

People, Countries, and Cities

How many countries named Congo are there?

There are two countries named Congo, and just to make things a little more confusing, they’re neighbors. The similarity between the names of the two—the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its western neighbor, the Republic of the Congo—makes distinguishing them a little difficult. In 1908 the Democratic Republic of the Congo was named Belgian Congo; in 1960 it was called Republic of the Congo; in 1964 it became People’s Republic of the Congo; in 1966 it was called Democratic Republic of the Congo; in 1971 it was called Zaire; and finally, in 1997, again became the Democratic Republic of the Congo.